Blackcountrywoman by Peter Arblaster

Author:Peter Arblaster
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Matador, 9781780888866, Blackcountrywoman, Peter Arblaster
ISBN: 9781780888866
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd

Chapter 17

The Man from the past

1909

Elsie gradually returned to normal. It had been a shock to her. She knew that she had made an impression on the Walkers and the bushellers and she wondered how they would react. Henry Wilkins didn’t matter; he’d gone, forever she hoped. Would they be shocked at her control of the situation and want her to leave? She sat quietly, allowing her body and mind to become calm again.

In a way she was quite pleased; she had managed to save Albert Walker from a horrific beating, she felt. Who knows how far Wilkins would have gone in his anger? On the other hand, she had shown herself up, she felt, when all she wanted was to merge with the rest of the pickers and just get on with having this little working holiday. Jenny was still holding Tom who seemed happy to have held on during his exciting ride in Jenny’s arms.

Wilkins was quite a big man and she had no doubt that if he had been able to seize the whip from her, he would soon have made short work of her and Mister Walker. Elsie held out her arms to Tom and he moved across the trap to her.

‘He did well, didn’t he?’ Elsie cuddled him close to her as Jenny said, ‘He could have been really hurt, you know. You shouldn’t have taken such risks. Really, I’ve never seen anything like it.’

Jenny’s face softened as she smiled to show that she was not seriously admonishing Elsie, who was still disturbed by the idea that she might get a degree of fame from the incident.

‘I would rather that nothing was said about this, if you don’t mind, Mrs Walker. I don’t like a lot of fuss. It’s not my way. Shall we get on with putting out the Billy-cans?’

Mrs Walker smiled in reply and Elsie felt that she would not say anything, though the bushellers, who had seen the whole incident, would almost certainly spread the story around. They spent the next hour handing out tea as the pickers gathered round to see what was to be had. Most of them had been to the farm before and knew the way things were done; others followed their lead. The morning passed quickly and the job was soon completed.

‘Right, now is the time for you to go back to what you were doing,’ said Jenny to Elsie. ‘You can give out the cans tomorrow morning, if you like. I’ve got plenty to do myself, so it will be good to have some help. This afternoon you can collect them in and wash them, all right?’

Oh well, thought Elsie, so much for fame. It’s nice to be back in the rut. She took Tom from Jenny and sat him on the seat of the trap.

‘Keep still, now, there’s a good boy.’

The journey round the pickers to collect the cans was uneventful and the last one was in the trap within the hour. Elsie arranged that she would meet Betty after work and they would eat together.

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